Image caption
Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki was critical of Ethiopia at the recent independence celebrations

It’s not clear why the fighting has erupted now.

But in recent months both sides have upped the rhetoric with the latest verbal salvo coming from Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki during celebrations to mark 25 years of the country’s independence.

He accused Ethiopia of being hostile to Eritrea’s sovereignty.

Earlier this year, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said his country was ready to take “proportionate military action against Eritrea” for what he described as “continuous acts of provocation and destabilisation of Ethiopia”.

Eritrea says the tense relations with Ethiopia are why it has national conscription, which can last for decades.

The 1998-2000 conflict, over the exact location of the border led to the deaths of an estimated 80,000 people.

Two versions

Mr Getachew told BBC Focus on Africa radio that the Eritrean action “was met by an overwhelming force”.

“Fighting was heavy enough to result in significant damage to Eritrean forces… which will hopefully make it think twice about its dangerous moves,” he added.

In a short statement issued on Sunday night, the Eritrean government said Ethiopia had “unleashed an attack against Eritrea on the Tsorona Central Front. The purpose and ramifications of this attack are not clear.”

As part of the Algiers peace agreement signed in 2000 both countries agreed to accept the ruling of an independent boundary commission over the location of the frontier as “final and binding”.

But after the commission ruled that the disputed town of Badme, where the conflict began, was in Eritrea. Ethiopia at first refused to agree to the border demarcation and then called for dialogue before it would implement the decision.

This was rejected by Eritrea and there has been an impasse ever since, although clashes have been rare.